Real estate portfolios helped boost net mortgage banking income in the fourth quarter of 2013 when it reduced more headcount to offset declining origination volumes.

The chief economist sees little pickup in purchase mortgage lending.

Revenue exceeded spending by $53 billion last month, compared with a $1.2 billion deficit in December 2012, the Treasury Department said.

The company has an edge because it has been offshoring for more than a decade and also automates a lot of tasks, according to SVP and managing director Jan Sternin.

Aggregate 30- and 15-year conventional prepayment speeds in December were up from the previous month but by less than expected, and Ginnie Mae speeds also were slower than anticipated.

New tool helps lenders meet regulatory expectations and build a unique settlement agent list updated with real time risk status.

A steep drop in refinances and declining purchase activity are taking a toll on Federal Housing Administration endorsements.

FCI Lender Services' Gordon Albrecht has long focused on areas mainstream players eschew, and right now he is helping servicers manage liabilities and costs intensified by Jan. 10's regulatory deadline.

This follows a near 2% negative return in 2Q13, according to LifeComps.

The top aides have worked for Wells Fargo and the Center for Responsible Lending.

Small lenders have cut over 14,000 employees since June.

Americans flush with cash as they regain equity in their homes are spending more after years of pinching pennies.

Applications for HECMs jumped 100% in September.

Hummingbirds are inexorably tied to the flowers they feed upon. They co-evolve. This is what is about to occur as federal and state laws co-evolve to create new compliance challenges for lenders.

The foreclosure inventory as of November 2013 is made up of 812,000 homes.

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae investment vehicles averaged returns of about -1% to -3% over the course of the year when Federal Reserve policy and long-term rate trends changed.

Rising house prices are making it easier for second-lien borrowers to refinance.

Through December, 31% of residential properties in the foreclosure process now have some equity.

Competition is likely to heat up given that companies show more optimism about their individual production than that of the market as a whole, a Mortgage Bankers Association survey shows.

The Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. has named MDS principal Kent Loehrke a managing director as a result of the acquisition.